Thursday, January 31, 2013

Almost every night for the past six weeks, Glen has asked the question: "What's new?"

Since Daphne was born, Glen has been taking care of the cows (with help from his dad and brother) and I have been holding down the fort, so to speak, taking care of the kids. It's almost like we're living in two separate worlds, so Glen's question is his way of catching up on what's happening in my world.

Some days, I don't have much to report. Some days, I think I should make a list so I don't forget. Because I forget more often than I remember. At least we have caller ID on our phone to keep track of who calls.

So, what's new?

In short, lots. But here are a few highlights:

• Obviously, Daphne's arrival is the biggest news around here. It's hard to believe she's already six weeks old. Everyone is adjusting well to life as a family of five. Dan and Monika adore their little sister and have been very helpful — at least 97% of the time they have.

• After Christmas break, Dan started an accelerated reading (AR) program at school. I am absolutely astounded that he's reading in kindergarten. I'm also super proud. And even though the AR program means he now has homework every night, I enjoy helping him with his reading.

• With caring for Daphne and helping Dan with homework, I was starting to feel like Monika wasn't getting enough parental attention, so we started what she calls "music time". We sit down at the piano, I play and Monika sings while pretending to play. And we both smile.

• For me, meetings and events are starting to fill up the calendar. Yesterday, Daphne and I participated in Minnesota Milk's Dairy Day at the Capitol. And planning has started for this year's Stearns County Breakfast on the Farm.

• Glen finally dried up enough extra cows to quit switching for awhile. He also turned two walkways in the barn into two extra stalls so the barn now has room for 60 cows.

The funny thing is, we started talking about those two extra stalls quite awhile ago and Glen picked up the materials to construct them last month, but he forgot to tell me that he actually finished the project until a couple days ago. So, I've started asking him, "What's new outside?" That way I can try to keep up with what's happening with the cows, especially now that cows are calving again.

The other question I've been hearing quite often is, "How's it going?" Glen asks that question via text message at least a couple times a day; it's his way of checking in on the chaos in the house. Other people who ask are usually inquiring about life with a newborn or about how we're handling the challenges of winter weather farming.